BEIJING, China, September 17, 2025 - Renesas Electronics Corporation, a global supplier of semiconductor solutions, today announced the RA0L1 microcontroller (MCU) product family based on the Arm® Cortex®-M23 processor. This ultra-low-power series delivers industry-leading capacitive touch solutions for battery-powered devices, consumer electronics, home appliances, white goods, and industrial system controls, enabling rapid and cost-effective deployment.

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Renesas' RA0 MCU series, launched in 2024, has gained significant customer adoption due to its cost-effectiveness and low power consumption. Building upon these strengths, the RA0L1 series adds capacitive touch functionality, enabling designers to create responsive, visually appealing, and low-power user interfaces at minimal cost.
The RA0L1 MCUs deliver industry-leading power efficiency: operating current as low as 2.9mA and sleep mode current of just 0.92mA. Furthermore, the series integrates a high-speed on-chip oscillator (HOCO), delivering the fastest wake-up speed in its class. This rapid wake-up capability allows the RA0L1 MCU to remain in standby mode for extended periods while reducing power consumption to a negligible 0.25μA—up to 90% lower than competing solutions.

Cost-Optimized Feature Set
The RA0L1 series' feature set is specifically optimized for cost-sensitive applications. With a wide operating voltage range from 1.6V to 5.5V, customers eliminate the need for additional level shifters/regulators in 5V systems. The series also integrates multiple communication interfaces, analog functions, security features, and safety mechanisms to reduce customer BOM costs. Packaging options include a 4mm×4mm 24-pin QFN micro package.
Additionally, the new MCUs incorporate a high-accuracy (±1.0%) HOCO that improves baud rate precision, eliminating the need for a separate oscillator. Unlike other HOCOs in the industry, this oscillator maintains this accuracy across the -40°C to 125°C operating temperature range. This wide temperature capability simplifies thermal design by eliminating the need for time-consuming and costly “fine-tuning” after reflow soldering.

Renesas's Superior Capabilities in Capacitive Touch Technology
Renesas delivers industry-leading capacitive touch technology, enabling customers to rapidly and cost-effectively implement high-quality touch interfaces across diverse systems. Its self-capacitance approach simplifies waterproofing design and reduces complexity compared to mutual-capacitance solutions. Renesas' multi-frequency measurement technology complies with IEC 61000-4-3 Level 4 standards, making it suitable for medical applications requiring robust electromagnetic interference (EMI) protection. Additionally, Renesas provides dedicated capacitive touch development resources, including the QE for Capacitive Touch tool, which simplifies sensitivity adjustment for capacitive buttons and accelerates development.

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Daryl Khoo, Vice President of the Embedded Processing Marketing Division at Renesas, stated: “The RA0L1 combines the power efficiency and cost-effectiveness advantages of the RA0 series MCUs with our superior capacitive touch technology and tools. We look forward to customers leveraging these devices to create more innovative touch interface solutions.”

Key Features of the RA0L1 MCU Family
Core: 32MHz Arm® Cortex®-M23
Memory: Up to 64KB integrated code flash and 16KB SRAM
Extended Temperature Range: Ambient temperature -40°C to 125°C
Timers: Timer array unit (16-bit × 8 channels), 32-bit interval timer (8-bit × 4 channels), RTC
Communication Peripherals: 3 UARTs, 2 asynchronous UARTs, 6 simplified SPI, 2 I2C, 6 simplified I2C
Analog Peripherals: 12-bit ADC, temperature sensor, internal reference voltage
HMI: Capacitive touch (up to 24 channels), current-driven ports (up to 8)
Security Features: SRAM parity check, invalid memory access detection, frequency detection, A/D test, output level detection, CRC calculator, register write protection
Security Mechanisms: Unique ID, TRNG, flash access window, flash read protection
Package: 24/32/48-pin QFN, 32/48-pin LQFP, 20-pin LSSOP
The new RA0L1 family of MCUs is supported by Renesas' Flexible Software Package (FSP). FSP provides all necessary infrastructure software, including multiple RTOS, BSP, peripheral drivers, middleware, connectivity, networking, and security stacks, along with reference software for building complex AI, motor control, and cloud solutions, accelerating application development. It allows customers to integrate their existing code and chosen RTOS with FSP, delivering full flexibility for application development. With FSP, customers can simplify migration between other RA series products.

Successful Product Portfolio
Renesas combines the new RA0L1 MCU family with numerous compatible devices in its portfolio to create an extensive “Successful Product Portfolio,” including capacitive touch remote controllers. “Success Portfolio” solutions feature mutually compatible, seamlessly integrated products with technically validated system architectures, delivering optimized, low-risk designs to accelerate time-to-market. Renesas has now launched over 400 “Success Portfolio” solutions based on various products in its lineup, enabling customers to accelerate their design processes and bring products to market faster. For more information, visit: renesas.com/win.

Availability
The RA0L1 family of MCUs and FSP software are now available, alongside the RA0L1 Rapid Prototyping Board and RA0L1 Capacitive Touch Evaluation System. Samples and kits can be ordered via the Renesas website or through distributors. For more details on new products, visit: renesas.com/RA0L1.

Renesas MCU Advantages
As a globally leading MCU supplier, Renesas Electronics has achieved average annual shipments exceeding 3.5 billion units in recent years. Approximately 50% of these are deployed in the automotive sector, with the remainder serving industrial, IoT, data center, and communications infrastructure applications. Renesas offers an extensive portfolio of 8-bit, 16-bit, and 32-bit products, delivering outstanding quality, efficiency, and performance. As a trusted supplier, Renesas brings decades of MCU design expertise, backed by a dual-source manufacturing model, industry-leading MCU process technologies, and a robust ecosystem of over 250 partners.